Dodgers: Andrew Heaney May Testify in Trial Involving Former Angels Staffer
Back in 2019, the baseball world was shocked and saddened by the news of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs passing away on the road in his hotel room in Texas. It was later revealed that the 27-year-old had died from asphyxiation after choking on his own vomit which was caused by a deadly mix of drugs and alcohol. The drugs in question were a mix of oxycodone and fentanyl that, according to reports, was provided by former Angels communications director Eric Kay.
Kay was terminated and a full investigation revealed that the former staffer had possibly been providing drugs to multiple people since as early as 2017. As such, Kay has been charged with the possession and distribution of drugs.
After several delays, the trial is set to begin next week and new Dodgers pitcher Andrew Heaney is listed among the potential witnesses that could take the stand.
BREAKING: Matt Harvey, Andrew Heaney and Garrett Richards are among 7 players on the witness list to testify at the Eric Kay trial.
Cam Bedrosian, CJ Cron, Mike Morin and Blake Parker are the others.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) February 3, 2022
Heaney pitched for the Angels from 2015-2021 and was teammates with Skaggs in Anaheim up until his unfortunate passing. Moreover, the two were close friends through their time as rotation mates with the Angels. In 2020, Heaney spoke against the idea that his friend was a drug addict, telling the LA Times the following in February of that year.
“We’ve talked about it a million times. We were all on the flight. It’s not like we carried him off the plane. That [stuff] could happen in an instant. … If anybody felt like he had a problem, and it was obvious, we would have said something. … I don’t think he did [have a drug problem]. I still believe that, to this day. Trust me, I’ve thought about it a million times. That [crap] had to play out exactly how it played out to have the effect that it did.”
The Dodgers signed Heaney to a one-year, $8 million deal back in November to add depth to the starting rotation.
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This guy is responsible for his actions. But the whole opioid catastrophe which has killed millions is directly the responsibility of the pharmaceutical companies. They pushed these medications and the use of them to treat the new human vital sign pain. They marketed the new versions as safe, but knew they were just as addictive as any opioid. They pushed them through for chronic pain patients and trained physicians in their use, and compensated those who prescribed them often. Successful law suits against the manufacturers by and large have awards to municipalities that incurred expenses. Nothing for the individual victims, their left behind dependents or the extended families that had to pick up the pieces of the lives of the orphaned children. The death toll is in the millions, orphaned children in the 10’s of millions. Mr Kay personally is complicit in the death and suffering of a number of individuals. The manufacturers have done the same to millions, selling a new version of a product whose properties have been known for over a thousand years. It is unbelievable to me that this has gone completely unpunished as my wife and I start our ninth year of raising two grandchildren. There is a much bigger picture to this.